Mr. Turner (2014) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video An exploration of the last quarter century of the great, if eccentric, British painter J.M.W. Turner's life. Director: a list of 41 titles created 26 Jun 2013 a list of 31 titles created 19 Feb 2014 a list of 34 titles created 01 Oct 2014 a list of 29 titles created 22 Nov 2014 a list of 41 titles created 16 Nov 2015 Search for " Mr. Turner " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 57 nominations. See more awards » Videos Edit Storyline Mr.

Turner explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). Profoundly affected by the death of his father, loved by a housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea, where he dies. Throughout this, he travels, paints, stays with the country aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so that he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Written by Entertainment One Rated R for some sexual content | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 31 October 2014 (UK) See more » Also Known As: $109,000 (USA) (19 December 2014) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia The movie seemed to have generated a new interest in J.M.W. Turner's works.

On December 3, 2014, Turner's painting "Rome, From Mount Aventine" (painted in 1835) was sold at auction by Sotheby's house for 30.3 million pounds (U$ 47.47 million), a record for any pre-20th century British artist. The painting was part of the Rosebery collection ever since 1878 and was in perfect conditions. See more » Goofs When Dr Price attends Turner in London, he says he is taking the train back to Margate from Charing Cross station, which wasn't opened until 1864, 13 years after Turner's death. See more » Quotes "a United Kingdom/French Republic/Federal Republic of Germany co-production" See more » Connections Pretty Kitty, the maid of the mill from "Harry le Roy, a Heroic Pastoral Burletta" Lyrics by J. Pocock and music by H.R. Bishop (United States) – See all my reviews Mike Leigh's "Mr Turner", a 2 1/2 hour movie had me so fascinated that it flew by.

As an enraptured audience member I felt like a fly on the wall to witness Mr. Turner's life and creations of art that were depicted with such extraordinary realism. I felt on a gut level how this man's wonderful art was inspired by his feelings and the world surrounding him. There were so many wonderfully chosen moments and the scenery was so detailed and - thank God- lacking any Hollywood glamour. The characters were extremely well researched and portrayed to such a degree that I had the feeling I got to live in 1850's England for the 2 1/2 hours. There was not one moment of "acting' in this movie. How refreshing and inspiring! Timothy Spall's portrayal of Mr Turner was amazing in its detail - He inhabited the role 100 %. He embodied the painter to the last brush stroke. Equally wonderful were the women and everybody else in this brilliantly crafted movie. I shall see it again in case I have missed any detail. 119 of 153 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Mr. Turner and National Gallery two views of genius of art: reviews | Toronto Star Movies Mr.

Turner and National Gallery two views of genius of art: reviews With Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh brings his hawk’s eye to a vibrant rendering of J.M.W. Turner, while with National Gallery, Frederick Wiseman appreciates an art landmark as almost a living thing. Timothy Spall as painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner. (SONY PICTURES CLASSICS) A scene from Frederick Wiseman's documentary National Gallery, about the London art landmark. By Peter Howell Movie Critic Wed., Dec. 24, 2014 Mr. Turner Starring Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson. Directed by Mike Leigh. Written and directed by Mike Leigh. At the Varsity and TIFF Bell Lightbox. 149 minutes. 14A Keen observer Mike Leigh brings his hawk’s eye to a vibrant rendering of J.M.W. Turner, the celebrated British “painter of light.” The artist is played to perfection by Timothy Spall, who spent two years preparing for the role and who won Best Actor for his efforts at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A Best Actor nomination at the Oscars is also possible and would be entirely deserved.

Article Continued Below Spall portrays Turner as a grunting vulgarian, a visionary nonetheless, who suffers from mommy issues and whose intimate relations with women frankly seem depraved, especially to modern eyes. That dismissive grunt is key to his portrayal of a man whose appreciation of life lies entirely on the canvas, which he assaults with a fury of colour and brush strokes. Dick Pope’s gorgeous cinematography loftily approaches the real Turner’s artistry, and Leigh has carefully adapted such actual Turner masterpieces as The Fighting Temeraire into the film’s artful visuals, making the experience of watching a lot like living inside a masterpiece. The film covers the last 25 of Turner’s adult years, finding him restless in London upon his return from overseas travels (including a painterly sojourn to Holland gloriously glimpsed at the outset). His living arrangements are a shambles, especially his dealings with women. His timid housekeeper Hannah (Dorothy Atkinson) brings him his meals and silently fulfils his base sexual urges. A previous sexual arrangement — you’d never call it a romance — produced two daughters, now grown to adults, but Turner hardly has time for them and even less for his former lover.

He is close to his father (Paul Jesson), but their relationship seems more based on familiarity and habit than any serious affection, at least on the son’s part. Turner saves almost all of his energies for his work, which he literally throws himself into — if it requires lashing himself to the mast of a ship in the midst of a driving snowstorm, then it shall be done: all the better to connect raw experience to art. It’s only when he travels to the seaside town of Margate, where he roamed as a lad, that his perpetual distemper lifts. There he meets Mrs. Booth (Marion Bailey), the keeper of the inn where he stays, who is curious about this odd and obsessive man. Although we may wish at times that Leigh’s scripting was less severe, and Gary Yershon’s score a wee bit less discordant, Mrs. Booth finds the man within the ogre. Their slow-budding relationship (she still has a husband when they first meet) is mindful of lines from a Leonard Cohen song: “Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in.” Mr.

Turner is similarly not perfect, but it reveals the light of a true genius. National Gallery Documentary on Britain’s National Gallery by Frederick Wiseman. At Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Dec. 26- Jan. 4. 180 minutes. G A perfect complement to Mr. Turner is Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery, an intimate exploration of the London art landmark filmed over 12 weeks in 2012. Many paintings by J.M.W. Turner hang in the gallery and so do works by such other masters as Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci and Titian, but Wiseman (At Berkeley) and cinematographer John Davey aren’t there to make a tourist video. They bring curiosity, respect and simple awe to their appreciation of a world-renowned institution that seems to be at war with itself over whether to be populist or snobby. “People don’t get it immediately. They don’t understand what we offer,” a woman argues to the museum’s director Nicholas Penny. She’s trying to make the place more accessible. Penny, an art historian, frets about selling out to the “lowest common denominator of public taste” rather than serving the enlightened few.

“I’d rather have spectacular success followed by sort of a really interesting failure than have a kind of (an) average,” he argues. Wiseman doesn’t overtly take sides. But his film quietly makes the argument that the appreciation of art requires effort, time and a place to apply it, all of which are supplied by the gallery and its dedicated curators, teachers and guides whom we observe in action. National Gallery presents the famous art space as almost a living and breathing thing, with all the complications and rough glory that implies. Mr Turner, review: 'Spall is like a moulting, phlegmy Gruffalo' - Telegraph Film Reviews Mr Turner, review: 'Spall is like a moulting, phlegmy Gruffalo' Mr Turner, Mike Leigh's biopic of the artist, features Timothy Spall's finest performance since Secrets & Lies, says Robbie Collin 5 Cert 12A; 149 mins Dir: Mike Leigh. Starring: Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville In the new Mike Leigh film, Mr Turner, you can hardly miss the Mister.

Joseph Mallord William is a sore thumb from the opening scene, where he’s sketching a windmill somewhere in rural Holland, poised like a pot-bellied stork among the rushes. The scene tells you everything you need to know about the man and the places he feels happiest: in short, it’s landscape as portrait, and Turner would have smiled at that. Leigh’s film is a supremely enjoyable biopic of the English artist known as “the painter of light” – someone whose canvases, which revelled in the possibilities of colour and movement, could almost be early forerunners of cinema. Turner is played by Timothy Spall , who gives the finest performance of his career to date, surpassing even his work in Leigh’s Secrets & Lies 18 years ago. It won Spall the best actor prize at Cannes this year, and the question now is just how far the role can take him: the the Baftas, almost inevitably; as far as the Oscars, very possibly. It’s a musty performance, one that gets in your clothes and hair, and that’s absolutely meant as a compliment.

Spall coughs and shambles about the place like a moulting, phlegmy Gruffalo, eyes bright and hungry, bottom lip jutting proudly forward like the spout of a custard jug. Related Articles Surprise Bafta snub for Mr Turner 09 Jan 2015 His repertoire of grunts alone comfortably extends past a hundred, and you wonder if perhaps Spall went Method for the role, living for years in a sty until he got the voice, posture and smell just right. But beyond the troughfuls of fun tics, Spall makes Turner tenderly and totally human, which has the effect of making his artistic talents seem even more God-given. The film begins in 1826, with Turner 51 years old and in the ascendant. He works from a studio in his London town house, where his housekeeper Hannah (Dorothy Atkinson) and elderly father, William Senior (Paul Jesson), keep things ticking over. Turner’s dealings with them both, including solemn groping of the former, are brisk and straightforward. The painting process, though, is very different: Leigh shoots it in a way that it sometimes resembles an occult ritual.

Early in the film, when Turner’s father visits a paint shop to replenish his son’s supplies, you see the pigments are piled up on silver platters, like spices in a souk, or potion ingredients, begging to be mixed. Light is what moves Turner, and he moves with the light. The film spans the quarter-century until his death in 1851, and we follow him wherever he goes. At a patron’s country estate, he tussles with a gloomy rival (Martin Savage) and tries to sing a Purcell aria – he does it amusingly badly but also tenderly, and finding the precise point of articulation between the two is pure, neat Leigh. READ: Timothy Spall and his wife on their sea voyages In Margate, Turner meets a friendly landlady (Marion Bailey), who comes to play an important role in his later life. At the Royal Academy, we see him buzzing around, joking with friends, dishing out advice and, in a perfect, self-contained skit, winding up John Constable (James Fleet). The film is studded with such gem-like supporting roles, many of which are taken by regular Leigh players, including Lesley Manville and Ruth Sheen.

Picking favourites is too difficult, but let’s just say the lisping writer and patron John Ruskin, hilariously played by Joshua McGuire as an oblivious smartypants, has stwuck a chord with a few of us cwitics. In its shape, Mr Turner is very much like Topsy-Turvy, Leigh’s superb, under-seen 1999 film about the comic-opera writers WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, set during the writing of The Mikado. But this is an even more ambitious work about the making of art, in which the process is not just shown as an almighty, if often very funny, strain, but something that, when done correctly, and with the stars aligned just so, can bear the artist past death and into history. When Leigh recreates the scene that inspired Turner’s 1839 masterpiece The Fighting Temeraire, he shows the artist finding hope not in the old, exhausted warship being tugged to her last berth, but the squat, blackened tugboat in front. “The ghost of the past,” says one of his friends, nodding sorrowfully at the larger vessel. “No,” Turner barks. “The past is the past. You’re observing the future! Smoke.

Iron. Steam!” Leigh and Spall’s genius is to show us both in one man: Turner is future and past, progress and history, tugboat and Temeraire. What the other newspapers are saying Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian : "Mr Turner is funny, humane and visually immaculate, hitting its confident stride straight away. It combines domestic intimacy with an epic sweep, and a lyrical gentleness pervades each scene, tragic or comic. Every line, every detail, every minor character, however casual or apparently superfluous, is absolutely necessary." Geoffrey MacNab, The Independent : "Mike Leigh's biopic is a rambling, richly detailed character study with a magnificent central performance from Timothy Spall.

This may be 19th-century costume fare but it is made with the same precise attention to its protagonists' yearnings and comic foibles as we find in Leigh's contemporary dramas with Spall, whether Secrets and Lies or his woefully underrated All Or Nothing." Dave Calhoun, Time Out : "Not only do we end up with a vivid, surprising and soulful sense of one artist and his work, but Leigh also offers us a commanding view of a city, London, and country at the dawn of the modern age and of a man being overawed and overtaken by new technologies such as photography and the railways. As ever with Leigh, 'Mr Turner' addresses the big questions with small moments. It's an extraordinary film, all at once strange, entertaining, thoughtful and exciting." Nigel Andrews, Financial Times : "It’s a beautiful film because it isn’t afraid of beauty’s uglinesses. Artists don’t personify the ideal or dazzling worlds they envision. They are the workshop, not the work. So it’s right, in a biopic, that we see the mess of the creative life." David Sexton, Evening Standard : "Mike Leigh takes the painting seriously enough.

He says he used actors in the film who could actually paint and Timothy Spall, who plays Turner so magnificently, learned to do so for the part. Yet the film never tries to explain Turner’s art, merely showing his mastery by the speed and certainty with which he attacks the canvas, scrubbing it with a brush, rubbing it with his finger, spitting at it even." 'Mr. Turner,' movie review - NY Daily News 'Mr. Turner,' movie review Timothy Spall as artist J.M.W. Turner in ‘Mr. Turner’ (handout) Wednesday, December 17, 2014, 1:53 PM Title 'Mr. Turner' Film Info: With Timothy Spall. Painterly biopic about the British artist J.M.W. Turner. Director: Mike Leigh (2:30). R: Sexuality. Angelika, City Cinemas, Lincoln Plaza. Director Mike Leigh specializes in intimate cinematic portraits, so there’s something delightfully ironic about how he’s chosen to make his latest film, “Mr. Turner,” about a landscape painter.

But Leigh (“Secrets & Lies,” “Vera Drake”) and lead Timothy Spall make full use of their canvas, creating a sprawling portrayal of a wonderfully messy personality. Spall is best known for his supporting performances (Winston Churchill in “The King’s Speech,” Peter Pettigrew in the “Harry Potter” films). But he’s among the highest class of character actor, able to make a role of any size his own. Leigh has given Spall the gift of a lifetime in J.M.W. Turner. The film is set in mid-19th century London, during the last years of Turner’s life. He is already celebrated as a genius, thanks in large part to his peerless seascapes. This requires him to put up with all manner of snobs, lunatics and hangers-on, including the perpetually bankrupt artist Benjamin Haydon (Martin Savage). As often as possible, Turner hides out at home or in his studio with his beloved father (Paul Jesson).

But even there, Turner must contend with the drama of his romantic life, which extends to the resentful mother of his estranged children (Ruth Sheen), his reverent housekeeper (Dorothy Atkinson) and his loyal landlady-turned-mistress (Marion Bailey). Spall is focused so tightly on his mumbling, grunting character that you may not catch every word of his heavily accented performance. But these moments will give you the chance to notice the movie’s other essential elements: Spall’s transformative physical presence, the compelling supporting turns and, especially, the gorgeous visual compositions. ‘Mr. Turner’ focuses on the artist’s later years, after he had emerged as a brilliant painter. (handout) Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope reflect the light and beauty of Turner’s work in each painstakingly composed and exquisitely shot scene. There is true artistry here, in every corner of the screen.

Timothy Spall: How I became Mr Turner - BBC News BBC News Timothy Spall: How I became Mr Turner 31 October 2014 Close share panel Image copyright Presser Image caption Timothy Spall spent two years learning how to paint for the role of JMW Turner Timothy Spall has won rave reviews for his portrayal of British artist JMW Turner in Mike Leigh's latest biopic, Mr Turner. The 57-year-old was crowned best actor at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his role in the film and is hotly tipped to receive an Oscar nod too. Spall spent years with Leigh researching Turner to fully embody the artist - a man Spall describes as an "eccentric genius". Here, the actor explains the process of how he prepared for the role and discusses his Academy Award chances. "Mike Leigh first mentioned the project to me seven years ago. Then in 2010 I was wandering around - doing an impression of an enigmatic actor in the West End - and I sat down in a pub, looked up, and I was sitting under a sign saying it was where Turner was born.

"I rang Mike [to tell him] and he said: 'That's a coincidence, come into the office.' He said: 'That Turner thing I was telling you about is going to be my next movie, but don't get too excited because its going to be called Untitled 2013'. "He said: 'I don't know how you feel about this, but I want you to start learning how to paint.' "So I spent the first two years doing a painting course with a guy called Tim Wright who's a portraitist and teacher. In fact, he's got a portrait of me currently hanging in the National Portrait Gallery he painted after we finished the film. Image copyright Presser Image caption Spall says he has now lost the painting skills he learnt for the film "We went through a huge process - Tim took me right through a foundation course. We did speed drawing and charcoal drawing. Then we progressed to water colours, to acrylic, then to oils. We did still life, real life and we went out and did en plein air painting. "Tim was incredibly patient. What was difficult for me was I did have a bit of ability so it made it harder as I knew when I was being rubbish.

If I was an ignoramus I could have just done what he said, but I knew when it was wrong. "We did about 400 images and about 10-15 full size paintings, culminating in painting a full size copy of [Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth] the painting that was a result of Turner being tied to a ship's mast. "I've got it on my wall and I look at it and I think how did I do that? I can't paint [like Turner] anymore - I've forgotten how to. "But it became apparent during the studying of Turner's work there was going to be no way I would be able to get anywhere near his brilliance and genius. I got up to probably his painting ability at the age of nine - and if you look a some of his work then it's not bad. It would have won Watercolour Challenge! Image copyright presser Image caption Director Mike Leigh (centre) spent some seven years developing and working on the film "We didn't use any CGI in the paintings. The artists mocked up half the Turner paintings, then I would then paint on them with this paint they invented that looked like oil paint but could be wiped off.

It only had a shelf life of about seven goes as it was made of a kind of soap and would start to deteriorate. "I remember the first time I had to paint on screen it was a straight line and I had to make sure my hand didn't shake. It was like asking someone to sing an aria like Caruso on the first day of filming! "I'm ambivalent about talking about my Oscar and other award chances because I'm from that generation of actors that never talk about that kind of thing. A - it puts the heebie-jeebies on it and B - it's slightly distasteful. "But I'm afraid it's become a reality - all the hype now goes hand-in-hand with the promotion of a film. Part of me is reluctant to even talk about it, but the other half of me says everybody else who might been in with a chance is going to be. "So what do I do? Do I just wander around pretending I don't want to be considered? I'd be a liar if I didn't. "Actors are often honestly dishonest about awards. They are ridiculous on one level because you're comparing things that are incomparable - how do you compare an action movie with an art movie?

You can't, but sometimes there's brilliant performances in both and therefore the notion of it is ludicrous. "But I tell you what, when you win one you ain't half pleased!" Mr Turner is released in UK cinemas on 31 October. 'Mr. Turner' takes a new look at artist J.M.W. Turner | am New York 'Mr. Turner' takes a new look at artist J.M.W. Turner By ROBERT LEVIN Advertise here If you’ve ever stood in front of a J.M.W. Turner painting, there’s a good chance you’ve been swept away by the lush watercolor and gorgeous landscapes. You might be surprised, then, to encounter the artist as portrayed in Mike Leigh’s “Mr. Turner,” which opens in theaters Friday. As portrayed by Timothy Spall, he’s gruff and unpleasant with a messy personal life. The film illuminates and gives equal weight to both sides of the icon, with a visual approach that replicates the look of Turner’s paintings and a character-driven focus that undercuts any mythologizing. “He is a cinematic painter,” says Leigh, 71. “How the hell he does it remains a mystery. He is cinematic. That was a starting point.

I thought, ‘Well, maybe there’s a film in it.’ I thought that after we made ‘Topsy Turvy.’ And then I started to research the personality of the man, the character and the tension between this complicated guy and this epic stuff. It’s fascinating really.” Leigh, one of the great filmmakers and an unparalleled modern voice when it comes to cinematic realism, says the approach is consistent with a career of more than four decades that has encompassed accomplished works such as “Secrets & Lies” and “Vera Drake.” “The idea that an artist is a grubby, practical engineer who rolls up his sleeves and gets down to the down and dirty business of manufacturing this commodity is something that people don’t think about,” Leigh says. “What I’m always persistent about, and you’re familiar with all my films I dare say, is to look at people as we are, in terms of what the human experience really is.” “Mr. Turner” marks the seventh time Leigh has collaborated with Spall, and the star says it’s precisely that focus on who we are and what life is like that keeps bringing him back to the director.

“He’s very, very interested in how human beings behave,” notes Spall, 57, who says Leigh first approached him about this project when they ran into each other on the street in London, and took years of painting lessons. “He’s interested in how they behave; really how they behave. He’s interested as much in the mundane and the everyday of human life as he is about any of the heroics of it.” Leigh’s approach, which places a significant premium on improvisation and performance, has netted his stars considerable acclaim. “Mr. Turner” is no exception, as Spall took home Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival and earned top prize from the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this month. “My mom’s old,” Spall says. “Nice to be able to phone up your mom and say, ‘Your son’s just won an award.’” While no one makes movies for awards or critics, Leigh is thrilled any time one of his collaborations with actors from his ensemble of frequent stars receives this sort of attention. “For me it’s just a joy and it’s great,” Leigh says. “Because what we do is syncretic. We’re not just doing regular roles. It’s a different kind of acting. ...

For it to be appreciated and understood and acclaimed in the mainstream is, to me, very exciting and rewarding.” Timothy Spall Takes On Painter J.M.W. Turner, A 'Master Of The Sublime' : NPR Timothy Spall Takes On Painter J.M.W. Turner, A 'Master Of The Sublime' Embed Embed Timothy Spall Takes On Painter J.M.W. Turner, A 'Master Of The Sublime' Timothy Spall Takes On Painter J.M.W. Turner, A 'Master Of The Sublime' Embed Embed Timothy Spall took fine art lessons on and off for two years so he could correctly portray British painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh's new film Mr. Turner. Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics hide caption toggle caption Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics Timothy Spall took fine art lessons on and off for two years so he could correctly portray British painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh's new film Mr. Turner. Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics Before he could play British artist J.M.W.

Turner, actor Timothy Spall first had to learn how to paint; over the course of two years, Spall took private fine art lessons from London artist Tim Wright. "The goal was to imbue myself in all of the disciplines and all of the different things that Turner would've known," Spall tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. He had no hope of becoming as good as Turner — "that's like being told to become as good as Einstein after you've done Sudoku," he says — but the hard work paid off: Spall has won best actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Mr. Turner. The film, directed by Mike Leigh, follows Turner from his early 50s to his death in 1851 at the age of 76. The artist's later landscape and seascape paintings are now revered, but were radical for their time. "I suppose you would regard him as one of the greatest landscape painters of all time and a unique artist because he was a master of the sublime," Spall says. "... The sublime ...

was something that tried to capture the beauty of nature, as well as its terror and its horror." Article continues after sponsorship Spall has appeared in four other Leigh films, including Topsy Turvy and Secrets and Lies. He also played Winston Churchill in The King's Speech and may be best known to many Americans for his role in the Harry Potter films as Peter Pettigrew. Interview Highlights On whether Spall wanted to be an artist When I was at school when I was 16 I was in a quandary because I didn't know whether I wanted to join the army — I had this terrible desire to be a tank driver in the Royal Tank Regiment, genuinely, or whether I wanted to go to art college because half of me wanted to be in the army and the other half of me wanted to be a surrealist. They're not mutually exclusive. Then I did the school play and my drama teacher said after she was taking my nose off (not my actual nose, the nose I had been wearing as the lion in the Wizard of Oz), she said, "I think you should be an actor. It's a terrible job ...

but I think you should do it and I'm going to help you and show you the way." Timothy Spall says he had to use a lot of empathy to play a character like Mr. Turner, who wasn't always "very pleasant" and was a "man of massive contradictions." Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics hide caption toggle caption Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics Timothy Spall says he had to use a lot of empathy to play a character like Mr. Turner, who wasn't always "very pleasant" and was a "man of massive contradictions." Simon Mein/Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics On how Spall took fine art classes in preparation for the role It was always going to be a tall order, but this brilliant guy, Tim Wright, did take me through all the disciplines and gave me a personal fine art course on and off over two years. And he got me up to such a degree that I was able to paint a full-scale copy of one of his masterpieces — the same size, in oil, on canvas — and the received wisdom is that it's not bad.

I've got it on my wall at home and I look at it in the morning and I think, "How the hell did I do that?" Because I certainly couldn't do it again. On whether the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London tried to change his "working class" accent No, thankfully they stopped doing that in the early '60s. When people went there, if you did have a regional accent — whether it be London or Yorkshire or Irish — they tried to inculcate the fact that it was impediment to you. And they got you to speak what is otherwise called "standard English" or R.P., "received pronunciation," which is the kind of English that grew out of the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] from the 1950s when newsreaders used to wear dinner jackets and dressed to read the news, where everybody sounded exactly the same and no one could be divined as to what part of England they were from. They were just generally regarded as being from the upper echelon of society. On being diagnosed with leukemia in 1996 and his recovery It was a massive odyssey. It was a journey that I had to go through.

And I had a growing family; I had young children and a wife. My wife ... now travels with me everywhere — not because she nearly lost me, but because my kids are all grown up and my son is now a very successful actor, Rafe Spall. It was a very tough period ... and some people don't make it. I was one of the lucky ones. I did. Age and life, if you're lucky, makes you think deeper, and the other thing it makes you realize is that you never stop learning and you never lose your fear of getting it wrong. Because I've been around a long time, but I'm terribly aware that there's so many things I need to know. Timothy Spall On how cancer has influenced his work It doesn't matter as to whether you have to sublimate it or not or whether the character is going through it, because I think your job as an actor, particularly a character actor who doesn't act to make the character fit you — my job as a character actor is to make me fit the character, to serve the character. So you have to use massive amounts of empathy and often you're playing people who aren't very pleasant, as in the case of Mr.

Turner, a man of massive contradictions. So you need to be able to go down into your imagination and dig deep to find out what makes people tick. I think anything that increases your understanding of the human condition ... I think age and life, if you're lucky, makes you think deeper, and the other thing it makes you realize is that you never stop learning and you never lose your fear of getting it wrong. Because I've been around a long time, but I'm terribly aware that there's so many things I need to know ... I don't think I've got it right yet. The new film about painter J.M.W. Turner, starring Timothy Spall, has earned rave reviews | Daily Mail Online comments The new film about the life of the painter J.M.W. Turner, directed by Mike Leigh and starring Timothy Spall, has earned rave reviews and won Spall a Best Actor award at Cannes. But Mr Turner, in cinemas tomorrow, is a work of art in its own right. Everything you see on screen — from the paintbrushes to the teacups — draws you into Turner’s world.

The film crew were determined to recreate 19th-century England to the last detail, and devoted years to researching his life and the period before they started filming. Here, Laura Freeman reveals the behind-the-scenes secrets of Mr Turner. Grunts and snorts like the master Artist Tim Wright spent two years teaching Timothy Spall to paint like Turner. They examined Turner’s unfinished paintings and sketchbooks in the Tate archive. Spall has an O-level in art — the only exam, he says, he ever passed — and together they made about 300 practice images: drawing from nudes, still life, rapid sketches, works in ink, watercolour and oils. Wright also bought a stuffed rabbit for Spall to paint, but discovered the taxidermist had filled the body with damp newspaper which smelt awful. Wright says Spall was often so ‘in character’ that he would grunt, snort and gurn as Turner did when he was painting. The actor was so taken with Turner’s having grown one of his fingernails long to use as a tool for scraping away paint that he did the same. We see him scratching the nail across the wet paint of one of his works at the Royal Academy.

Actor Timothy Spall spent two years studying art to prepare for his role as J.M.W. Turner in the film about the famous artist One of the paintings produced by Timothy Spall under the guidance of teacher Tim Wright - he said Spall was so often 'in character' that he would grunt, snort and gurn as Turner did when he was painting Turner also spat on his paintings to help bind the pigments, and Spall embraced this habit with gusto. But Wright insists Turner’s brush strokes were carefully ‘choreographed’ as ‘a tight sequence of movements’ he and Spall worked to recreate. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share James Fleet, who plays landscape painter John Constable, Turner’s rival, was also sent to Wright’s studio and proved to be a natural. Another painter, Charlie Cobb, was responsible for recreating the paintings we see in close-up. Those in the background are printed reproductions with a layer of varnish to make them look authentic.

Why Margate is really Cornwall When Turner visited Margate in the 1820s, he fell in love not just with the seafront but also his landlady Mrs Booth, whom he installed in a house in Chelsea, West London, to have her nearer to him. Margate, which was heavily bombed in World War II, is no longer the pretty harbour town it was in Turner’s day, so the crew decamped to picturesque Kingsand in Cornwall. They completely took over, painting the houses and making the woodwork look battered and aged. The crew had trouble putting up wallpaper at Mrs Booth’s because the seaside house had such bad damp, and ended up using stencils in some of the rooms instead. Turner’s original central London home and studio — 64 Harley Street — was also destroyed by bombing. The house you see on screen is actually in Woolwich, South-East London. The crew found a building there that was about to be turned into flats, and transformed it into a grand Georgian townhouse with walls painted in colours inspired by the dark and macabre Soane Museum in London. This was once the home of the architect Sir John Soane, a contemporary of Turner’s, who appears briefly in the film.

Mrs Booth’s ‘Chelsea’ cottage is really in industrial Watford. The crew dug up the front garden and filled it with pond liner covered in mud to make it look as though it were on the bank of the Thames. A rotten way to treat his teeth Turner's teeth were a curse. By the time he was 62, he wore wooden dentures. He took them out at meals and sucked rather than chewed his food. The challenge to Christine Blundell, director of hair and make-up, was to show Turner’s teeth getting more rotten. Mrs Booth, played by Marion Bailey (right), wore hardly any make-up as Christine Blundell, director of hair and make-up, wanted her to look more homely A series of discoloured dental plates were made, to sit over Spall’s own teeth, as they got browner and more decayed. Mrs Booth wore hardly any make-up as Blundell wanted her to look homely and unaffected. Then there was Turner’s housekeeper, who suffered from the skin-condition psoriasis. In early scenes, there are just a few marks on her neck, but these spread, until her face, neck and arms are covered in scars.

‘People with psoriasis in those days were treated like lepers,’ explains Christine. Actress Dorothy Atkinson spent 90 minutes each morning in make-up, while Christine applied a ‘concoction of stuff’: little prosthetic pieces which had been coloured red, and slivers of gelatine that Atkinson could pick off as she scratched her skin. It would take Christine’s team longer still to remove it all each night: one would work on Atkinson’s face, one on her neck and one on each hand. Male actors, meanwhile, were told six months before filming to start growing sideburns. Spall as Turner has a particularly grand and unruly pair. His wonky wardrobe The actor's costumes always have a blue or white cloth as Turner always had a handkerchief or rag hanging out of one pocket that could be used to wipe away paint Timothy Spall wanted to play Turner with the stiff gait of a Victorian gentleman, as if he were walking on the sides of his feet, so costume designer Jacqueline Durran had special shoes made to turn his toes outwards. At first, Spall loved the footwear for helping him get into character, but later came to hate it because it was so uncomfortable.

She noticed that, in sketches of Turner, he invariably had a handkerchief or rag hanging out of one pocket that could be used to wipe away paint, so Spall’s costumes always include a blue or white cloth. Durran also had a special coat made for Spall with pockets deep enough to hold a sketchbook. Densely knitted Victorian-style wool is no longer manufactured, so Durran had to buy the fabric from Eastern Europe. One more obsessive detail that helped to bring this extraordinary man so richly to life. Steaming back in time One of Turner's most famous paintings — Rain, Steam And Speed — shows a Victorian train powering towards the viewer. Director Mike Leigh was determined to recreate this moment, and production designer Suzie Davies was charged with hunting down a train from the period. She found a working replica at the Manchester Museum Of Science And Industry, and oversaw an operation to move the train by low-loader lorry to an old railway track in North Wales, which, crucially, ran east-west. They wanted the sun setting behind the train — the conditions Turner had painted. They had only one chance to get the shot right, because the train had to be returned the next day. That night there was a glowing sunset.

The team did not want to resort to ‘green screens’ in the background, onto which special effects can be projected, and Davies says it was a ‘serendipitous moment’. Fake insects and a secret spyhole Turner was obsessed with light, and built a special viewing room at the top of his London house for his paintings, with skylights in the roof. However, Turner decided he didn’t like the direct glare from above, and hung a complicated canopy of net curtains to filter the sunlight. The crew recreated the canopy with a combination of old fishing nets and dyed muslin. The film crew recreated the special viewing room Turner had at the top of his London house for his paintings In one scene, we see Turner’s housekeeper knocking trapped, dead flies out of the netting. The flies are really tiny rolls of blackout blind fabric with black cotton thread wrapped around them to look like legs and wings. We also see Turner spying on the reactions of prospective buyers though a spyhole built into the wall. This isn’t a flight of fancy: Turner really did have such a peephole, and when the crew built the set for his studio and viewing room, they included this secret point in the wall.

From pigs heads to perfect paintbrushes In the opening scenes, Turner’s father, a barber, practices his technique by shaving the bristles from a pig’s head. On the day of filming, director Mike Leigh decided he didn’t want one pig’s head, as planned, but a dozen. Charlotte Watts, the film’s props director, had to dash at dawn to markets in Brixton, Deptford and Peckham in South London to get enough, and because they weren’t sufficiently bristly (thanks to EU agricultural regulations which say that pigs’ heads cannot be sold with bristles still attached) she had to painstakingly apply fake ones by hand to the head that was due to be shaved. Peckham market was also the source of the exquisite china bowls in Turner’s house. They may look like Wedgwood, but many came from the market’s Nigerian shops. Charlotte Watts said she wanted the actors to feel as if the real Turner had just left the room, so there were cups of tea and half-eaten biscuits left on tables.

She scoured art materials catalogues from the 1830s to source the exact make of brush he would have used, and bought paints from Winsor & Newton, a firm founded in the artist’s lifetime. When the crew decamped to Cornwall, they found a local eccentric who had a hoard of ropes and nets stored in an old World War II bunker. The ship’s paraphernalia you see on screen were borrowed from his stash.

Question: Who portrayed the eponymous painter in the 2014 film Mr Turner?
Answer: Timothy Spall